Targeted distribution of electronic coupons

ABSTRACT

A system, method and computer program product is described that matches commercial incentives to consumers based on targeting data associated with the commercial incentive and user data associated with consumers in a manner that advantageously allows for highly-targeted delivery of commercial incentives to the consumers that are most likely to use them. Because both the targeting data and the user data may include spatial, temporal, social and topical data, matching may be performed based on any or all of these data types, as well as based on any combination of these data types.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/219,107, filed Aug. 26, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/944,914, filed Nov. 26, 2007. The entirety ofeach of these applications is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for thedistribution, management and redemption of incentives. In particular,the present invention generally relates to systems and methods for thedistribution, management and redemption of commercial incentives,including but not limited to electronic discounts, games or personalinformation management.

2. Background

In marketing, the term “coupon” typically refers to a ticket or documentthat can be exchanged for something of value, such as a financialdiscount or rebate, when purchasing a product or service. Coupons arethus intended to incentivize a consumer to purchase the subject productor service. Coupons have traditionally been distributed in paper formthrough mail, magazines, newspapers, or the like. More recently, couponshave also been distributed to consumers in electronic form via theInternet and via mobile devices such as cellular phones.

From the consumer standpoint, conventional coupon distribution andredemption practices suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example,cutting out and collecting paper coupons is a cumbersome andtime-consuming task. Even after clipping a coupon, consumers maynevertheless forget to bring the coupon with them when going to make apurchase, which can be extremely frustrating. Electronic couponsdistributed via the Internet suffer from similar issues, since consumersmust still take time to print out the electronic coupon and thenremember to bring it with them at the time of purchase.

Also, consumers often have a difficult time finding coupons that relateto the products and services in which they are most interested. Manypaper coupons are distributed via mass mailings and as magazine andnewspaper inserts and thus are not targeted to a particular consumer orgroups of consumers. Limited forms of consumer targeting have been usedin distributing paper and electronic coupons to consumers (e.g., sendingcoupons to consumers who have previously purchased the same product orservice). However, these limited forms of targeting do not take intoaccount spatial, temporal, social and topical information to moreprecisely match coupons with the consumers that are most likely to usethem. Furthermore, there is currently no mechanism available forrewarding consumers who pass coupons on to other consumers who may beinterested in them.

From the perspective of the business operator, conventional coupondistribution and redemption practices also suffer from a number ofdisadvantages. For example, for the business operator, publishing acoupon is like placing a wager on future business because the terms ofthe coupon must be fixed prior to publication and because the couponmust be valid for a fixed period of time. Since the terms of the couponcannot be modified after publication to account for changing businessconditions (such as changing sales or inventory levels), there is asubstantial amount of guesswork involved in determining whether and/orby how much a particular coupon distribution will benefit a business.

Furthermore, business operators have a difficult time placing couponsinto the hands of the consumers most likely to use them. Businessoperators typically distribute coupons in a manner that is centralizedand limited to the venues in which the business operator chooses topublish the coupon. A “buckshot” approach is often used in the hopesthat the coupons will come into contact with consumers having aninterest in the subject of the coupon. As noted above, some limitedmethods exist for targeted delivery of coupons to a consumer or group ofconsumers, but such limited methods do not take into account spatial,temporal, social and topical information to more precisely match couponswith the consumers that are most likely to use them. Furthermore, asnoted above, such methods do not provide an incentive for consumers topass coupons on to other consumers who may be interested in them.

What is needed then is a system and method for the distribution andredemption of incentives, including commercial incentives such aselectronic coupons, that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomingsassociated with conventional coupon distribution and redemptionpractices.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system, method and computer program product is described herein formatching commercial incentives to consumers based on targeting dataassociated with the commercial incentive and user data associated withconsumers in a manner that advantageously allows for highly-targeteddelivery of commercial incentives to the consumers that are most likelyto use them. Because both the targeting data and the user data mayinclude spatial, temporal, social and topical data, matching may beperformed based on any or all of these data types, as well as based onany combination of these data types.

In particular, a method is described herein for distributing acommercial incentive to a consumer. In accordance with the method, acommercial incentive and targeting data associated therewith areaccessed. User data associated with a consumer is also accessed, whereinthe user data comprises at least one of spatial data, temporal data,social data and topical data associated with the consumer. Thecommercial incentive is then matched to the consumer based at least inpart on the targeting data and the user data. The commercial incentiveis then distributed to the consumer over a network responsive to thematching step.

In further accordance with the foregoing method, the commercialincentive may obtained from an advertiser while the targeting data maybe obtained from the advertiser or inferred from a source, contentand/or terms associated with the commercial incentive. The commercialincentive may also be populated into a graph of commercial incentivesavailable for distribution to consumers prior to accessing thecommercial incentive.

In one implementation of the foregoing method, the user data includesspatial data corresponding to a current location of the consumer, andthe commercial incentive is matched to the consumer by determining ifthe current location of the consumer is within a target area associatedwith the commercial incentive.

In another implementation of the foregoing method, the user dataincludes temporal data, and the commercial incentive is matched to theconsumer by determining if the temporal data falls within a target timeperiod associated with the commercial incentive.

In yet another implementation of the foregoing method, the user dataincludes social data that identifies a group of users with whom theconsumer is socially connected, and the commercial incentive is matchedto the consumer by determining if another user that has received thecommercial incentive is within the group of users with whom the consumeris socially connected.

In still another implementation of the foregoing method, the user dataincludes topical data that indicates an area of interest of theconsumer, and the commercial incentive is matched to the consumer bydetermining if the commercial incentive relates to the area of interestof the consumer.

A system is also described herein. The system includes a matchingmanager and a communications manager communicatively connected thereto.The matching manager is configured to access a commercial incentive andtargeting data associated with the commercial incentive, to access userdata associated with a consumer, wherein the user data comprises atleast one of spatial data, temporal data, relationship data and topicaldata associated with the consumer, and to match the commercial incentiveto the consumer based at least in part on the targeting data and theuser data. The communications manager is configured to distribute thecommercial incentive to the consumer over a network responsive to theperformance of the matching function by the matching manager.

The foregoing system may further include a commercial incentive manager.The commercial incentive manager may be configured to obtain thecommercial incentive and the targeting data from an advertiser or may beconfigured to obtain the commercial incentive from an advertiser and toinfer the targeting data from a source, content and/or terms associatedwith the commercial incentive. The foregoing system may also include adistribution manager configured to populate the commercial incentiveinto a graph of commercial incentives available for distribution toconsumers. In such an embodiment, the matching manager is configured toaccess the commercial incentive by accessing the graph.

A computer program product is also described herein. The computerprogram product includes a computer-readable medium having computerprogram logic recorded thereon for enabling a processing unit todistribute a commercial incentive to a consumer. The computer programlogic includes first means, second means, third means and fourth means.The first means are configured to enable the processing unit to access acommercial incentive and targeting data associated with the commercialincentive. The second means are configured to enable the processing unitto access user data associated with a consumer, wherein the user datacomprises at least one of spatial data, temporal data, social data andtopical data associated with the consumer. The third means areconfigured to enable the processing unit to match the commercialincentive to the consumer based at least in part on the targeting dataand the user data. The fourth means are configured to enable theprocessing unit to distribute the commercial incentive to the consumerover a network responsive to the matching step.

The foregoing computer program logic may further include means forenabling the processing unit to obtain the commercial incentive and thetargeting data from an advertiser. Alternatively, the foregoing computerprogram logic may further include means for enabling the processing unitto obtain the commercial incentive from an advertiser and means forenabling the processing unit to infer the targeting data from a source,content and/or terms associated with the commercial incentive. Theforegoing computer program logic may also include means for enabling theprocessing unit to populate the commercial incentive into a graph ofcommercial incentives available for distribution to users.

Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.It is noted that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments described herein. Such embodiments are presented herein forillustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments will be apparent topersons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings containedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art(s) to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of a system for the distribution,management and redemption of commercial incentives in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a commercial incentive engine in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates different types of user data that may be used toperform targeted distribution of commercial incentives in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates different types of advertiser data that may be storedby a commercial incentive engine in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method for performing targeteddistribution of consumer incentives in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of various stages that a consumer may pass throughbetween first becoming aware of a product or service through actuallypurchasing the product or service.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of a method for dynamically augmenting acommercial incentive in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a commercial incentive engine in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention that facilitatesdynamic determination of content and/or terms of commercial incentives.

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a method for dynamically determiningcontent and/or terms to be associated with a commercial incentive priorto distribution to a consumer in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary system that facilitates the redistributionof commercial incentives between consumer devices in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing first and second consumers carryingrespective first and second consumer devices, wherein the first andsecond consumer devices are each communicatively connected to the othervia a proximity network.

FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart of a method for redistributing a commercialincentive from a first consumer device to a second consumer device via aproximity network in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing first and second consumers carryingrespective first and second consumer devices, wherein the first andsecond consumers are connected via a social network associated with thefirst consumer.

FIG. 14 depicts a flowchart of a method for redistributing a commercialincentive from a first consumer to a second consumer within a socialnetwork in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a system that includes a node thatreceives, stores, distributed and redistributes commercial incentives inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram that shows a node that is configured todistribute and redistribute commercial incentives in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 depicts a flowchart of a method by which a node within acommercial incentive distribution network may distribute commercialincentives in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 depicts a flowchart of a method by which a node within acommercial incentive distribution network may redistribute commercialincentives in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a commercial incentive engine inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention thatincludes a publisher interface.

FIG. 20 depicts a flowchart of a method for receiving and redeeming acommercial incentive in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 21 depicts a flowchart of a method for compensating distributorsand/or redistributors of a commercial incentive in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an example computer system that may beused to implement aspects of the present invention.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, in which like reference charactersidentify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, likereference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar,and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an elementfirst appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the correspondingreference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Example System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary system 100 for thedistribution, management and redemption of commercial incentives inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As used herein,the term “commercial incentive” refers to electronic offers or any othertype of inducement that may be transmitted electronically to a consumerand that is intended to motivate the consumer to engage in a commercialactivity including but not limited to the purchasing of a product orservice. As used herein, the term commercial incentive is not intendedto cover paper coupons as described in the Background Section above.

As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 includes a commercial incentive (CI)engine 102 that is communicatively connected to consumers 108 via afirst interface 122, to advertisers 110 via a second interface 124, andto a CI distribution network 104 via a third interface 126. Each of theelements of system 100 will now be briefly described, with additionaldetails to be provided in subsequent sections.

First interface 122 is configured to allow consumers 108 to interactwith CI engine 102 for the purpose of specifying whether or not theywish to “opt in” to receive commercial incentives from CI engine 102.First interface 122 may be further configured to allow a consumer toprovide information to CI engine 102 that is subsequently used by CIengine 102 to determine which commercial incentives will be distributedto the consumer and when such commercial incentives should bedistributed. First interface 122 may be still further configured toallow a consumer to perform other management functions relating to thereceipt of commercial incentives to be described in more detail herein.In one embodiment of the present invention, first interface 122comprises an application programming interface (API) that can be used tobuild applications by which consumer systems/devices interact with CIengine 102, although the invention is not so limited. It should be notedthat in certain embodiments of the present invention, first interface122 is not used and commercial incentives are sent to consumersautomatically or, alternatively, the process for opting in is handledvia another channel that is not shown in FIG. 1.

Second interface 124 is configured to allow advertisers 110 to interactwith CI engine 102 for the purpose of creating commercial incentives fordistribution to consumers. Second interface 124 may be furtherconfigured to allow advertisers 110 to specify targeting criteria thatare used to match commercial incentives to consumers. Second interface124 may be still further configured to allow an advertiser to modifycommercial incentives that have already been distributed to consumersand/or to provide information that is used by CI engine 102 toautomatically modify such commercial incentives. Second interface 124may also be configured to perform other functions to be described inmore detail herein. In one embodiment of the present invention, secondinterface 124 comprises an API that can be used to build applications bywhich advertiser systems interact with CI engine 102, although theinvention is not so limited.

CI engine 102 is a system that is configured to receive commercialincentives from advertisers and to selectively distribute suchcommercial incentives to consumers via a CI distribution network 104. Tothis end, CI engine is configured to perform a number of functionsincluding matching of commercial incentives to consumers based onspatial, temporal, social and/or topical information associated with theconsumers, dynamically modifying commercial incentives that have alreadybeen distributed to consumers, and managing and tracking commercialincentives from creation through redemption or withdrawal by theadvertiser who created it.

CI distribution network 104 is a network used by CI engine 102 for thedistribution, management and redemption of commercial incentives.Network 104 comprises a plurality of consumer systems/devices 112 thatare communicatively connected to CI engine 102 via one or more networknodes and that are configured to receive commercial incentives via thenetwork nodes. Communication between CI engine 102 and CI distributionnetwork 104 takes place over third interface 126. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, third interface 126 comprises an API that can beused to build applications by which consumer systems/devices 112 cancommunicate with CI engine 102, although the invention is not solimited.

FIG. 2 depicts commercial incentive engine 102 in more detail. As shownin FIG. 2, commercial incentive engine 102 includes a number ofcommunicatively-connected elements including a consumer interface 202, aCI manager 204, a distribution manager 206, a matching manager 208, acommunications manager 210, a user data database 212, an advertiser datadatabase 214, and an active CI graph 216. Each of these elements willnow be described.

1. User Data Database 212

User data database 212 is configured to store data associated withparticular consumers that is used by CI engine 102 to perform targeteddistribution of commercial incentives in a manner to be described inmore detail herein. The user data stored in database 212 may be activelyprovided by a consumer (such as via consumer interface 202), collectedfrom consumer systems/devices 112 via CI distribution network 104 orsome other channel, provided to CI engine 102 from some other network,system or database that aggregates such data, or by any combination ofthe foregoing. An example of a system that uses a sensor network tocollect user data of the type stored in user database 212 is describedin commonly-owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/562,976, entitled “Methods, Systems and Apparatus for Delivery ofMedia,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user data stored in database 212 may includespatial data 302, temporal data 304, social data 306 and topical data308. The user data stored in database 212 may also include informationdeduced or derived from spatial data 302, temporal data 304, social data306 and topical data 308, as will be discussed in more detail herein.

Spatial data 302 may be any information associated with a location ofthe user and/or an electronic system/device associated with the user.For example, spatial data 302 may include any passively-collectedlocation data, such as cell tower data, GPRS data, global positioningservice (GPS) data, WI-FI data, personal area network data, IP addressdata and data from other network access points, or actively-collectedlocation data, such as location data entered into a system/device by auser. Spatial data 302 may also include weather data associated withvarious locations. Spatial data 302 may be obtained by tracking the pathand state of consumer systems/devices 112.

Temporal data 304 is time-based data (e.g., time stamps) or metadata(e.g., expiration dates) that relate to specific times and/or eventsassociated with a user and/or an electronic system/device associatedwith the user. For example, temporal data 304 may includepassively-collected time data (e.g., time data from a clock resident onan electronic system/device, or time data from a network clock), oractively-collected time data, such as time data entered by the user ofthe electronic system/device (e.g., a user-maintained calendar).

Social data 306 may be any data or metadata relating to therelationships of a user of an electronic system/device. For example,social data 306 may include user identity data, such as gender, age,race, name, social security number, photographs and other informationassociated with the user's identity. User identity information may alsoinclude e-mail addresses, login names and passwords. Social data 306 mayalso include social network data. Social network data includes datarelating to any relation of the user of the electronic system/devicethat is input by a user, such as data relating to a user's friends,family, co-workers, business relations, and the like. Social networkdata may include, for example, data corresponding with a user-maintainedelectronic address book. Certain social data may be correlated with, forexample, location information to deduce social network data, such asprimary relationships (e.g., user-spouse, user-children and user-parentrelationships) or other relationships (e.g., user-friends,user-co-worker, user-business associate relationships) and may beweighted by primacy.

Topical data 308 may be any data or metadata concerning subject matterin which a user of an electronic system/device appears to have aninterest or is otherwise associated. Topical data 308 may be activelyprovided by a user (such as via consumer interface 202) or may bederived from other sources.

Both social data 306 and topical data 308 may be derived frominteraction data. As used herein, the term interaction data refers toany data associated with interactions carried out by a user via anelectronic system/device, whether active or passive. Examples ofinteraction data include interpersonal communication data, media data,transaction data and system/device interaction data.

Interpersonal communication data may be any data or metadata that isreceived from or sent by an electronic system/device and that isintended as a communication to or from the user. For example,interpersonal communication data may include any data associated with anincoming or outgoing SMS message, e-mail message, voice call (e.g., acell phone call, a voice over IP call), or other type of interpersonalcommunication relative to an electronic system/device, such asinformation regarding who is sending and receiving the interpersonalcommunication(s). As described below, interpersonal communication datamay be correlated with, for example, temporal data to deduce informationregarding frequency of communications, including concentratedcommunication patterns, which may indicate user activity information.

Media data may be any data or metadata relating to presentable media,such as audio data, visual data and audiovisual data. Audio data may be,for example, data relating to downloaded music, such as genre, artist,album and the like, and may include data regarding ringtones, ringbacks, media purchased, playlists, and media shared, to name a few.Visual data may be data relating to images and/or text received by anelectronic device (e.g., via the Internet or other network). Visual datamay include data relating to images and/or text sent from and/orcaptured at an electronic system/device. Audiovisual data may includedata or metadata associated with any videos captured at, downloaded to,or otherwise associated with an electronic system/device.

Media data may also include media presented to a user via a network,such as via the Internet, data relating to text entered and/or receivedby a user using the network (e.g., search terms), and data relating tointeraction with the network media, such as click data (e.g.,advertisement banner clicks, bookmarks, click patterns and the like).Thus, media data may include data relating to a user's RSS feeds,subscriptions, group memberships, game services, alerts, and the like.Media data may also include non-network activity, such as image captureand/or video capture using an electronic device, such as a mobile phone.Image data may include metadata added by a user, or other dataassociated with an image, such as, with respect to photos, location atwhich the photos were taken, direction of the shot, content of the shot,and time of day, to name a few. As described in further detail below,media data may be used for example, to deduce activities information orpreferences information, such as cultural and/or buying preferencesinformation.

Interaction data may also include transactional data or metadata.Transactional data may be any data associated with commercialtransactions undertaken by a user via an electronic system/device, suchas vendor information, financial institution information (e.g., bankinformation), financial account information (e.g., credit cardinformation), merchandise information and cost/prices information, andpurchase frequency information, to name a few. Transactional data may beutilized, for example, to deduce activities and preferences information.Transactional information may also be used to deduce types of devicesand/or services owned by a user and/or in which a user may have aninterest.

Interaction data may also include system/device interaction data andmetadata. System/device interaction data may be any data relating to auser's interaction with an electronic system/device not included in anyof the above categories, such as data relating to habitual patternsassociated with use of an electronic system/device. Example ofsystem/device interaction data include data regarding which applicationsare used on thane electronic system/device and how often and when thoseapplications are used. As described in further detail below,system/device interaction data may be correlated with temporal data todeduce information regarding user activities and patterns associatedtherewith.

The user data stored in database 212 may also include deducedinformation. The deduced information may be deduced based on one or moreof spatial data 302, temporal data 304, social data 306, or topical data308 as described above. The deduced information may thus includeinformation relating to deduced locations and/or deduced activities ofthe user. For example, the deduced information may comprise one or moreof a primary user location, secondary user location, past locations,present location, and predicted future location information. The deducedinformation may include information deduced based on a correlation ofspatial data 302 in conjunction with temporal data 304 to deduce suchlocation data. By way of illustration, spatial data 302 may becorrelated with temporal data 304 to determine that a user of anelectronic system/device is often at one or more specific locationsduring certain hours of the day. In a particular embodiment, spatialdata 302 is correlated with temporal data 304 to determine a primaryuser location (e.g., home), a secondary location (e.g., school or work)and/or other locations, as well as a cyclical model for a user'sspatial/temporal patterns.

The deduced information may also include activity information, such aspast activity information, present activity information, and predictedfuture activity information. In this regard, the past, present, orpredicted future activity information may include information relatingto past communications and/or co-locations with other users. By way ofexample, spatial data 302 may be correlated with temporal data 304 todetermine a user's activities (e.g., work, recreation and/or homeactivities).

The deduced information may also include preferences information. Thepreferences information may include cultural preferences and/or buyingpreferences information. The cultural preferences information may be anypreferences information relating to the culture of the user, such asgender preferences, ethnicity preferences, religious preferences and/orartistic preferences, to name a few. The buying preferences may be anypreferences associated with the buying habits of the user. Allpreferences may be explicitly provided by a user or implicitly derivedfrom aggregated user and network data.

2. Consumer Interface 202

Consumer interface 202 is a component that is configured to allow aconsumer to interact with CI engine 102 from a remote location for thepurpose of specifying whether or not the consumer wishes to receivecommercial incentives from CI engine 102, as well as to optionallyprovide other information or perform other functions to personalizecommercial incentive distribution/account management. Informationprovided by a consumer via consumer interface 202 is stored in user datadatabase 212. Consumer interface 202 may be implemented using a Webservice and a standard set of Web APIs for utilizing the Web service.Web applications built upon the Web service may be published by anentity that owns and/or operates CI engine 102 or by other entities.Such Web applications are accessed by consumers using Web browsers in awell-known fashion.

The system/device used by the consumer to interact with consumerinterface 202 may be any one of consumer systems/devices 112 or someother system/device. In one embodiment, communication between consumersand consumer interface 202 occurs over the Internet. However, theinvention is not so limited, and communication between consumers andconsumer interface 202 may occur over any type of network or combinationof networks including wide area networks, local area networks, privatenetworks, public networks, packet networks, circuit-switched networks,and wired or wireless networks.

As noted above, consumer interface 202 allows a consumer to specifywhether or not they wish to “opt in” to receive commercial incentivesfrom CI engine 102. Depending upon the implementation, a consumer maynot only specify whether or not they wish to receive commercialincentives from CI engine 102 but also specify other parametersconcerning the receipt of commercial incentives such as parametersrelating to the amount, frequency, origin, or type of commercialincentives to be received. For example, a consumer may specify thatcommercial incentives relating to a certain type of product or serviceshould or should not be received or that commercial incentivesoriginating from a particular company or companies should or should notbe received. As another example, a consumer may specify that commercialincentives should be received from persons within a particular socialnetwork or from persons within a certain “social distance” of theconsumer within the given social network. In still another example, aconsumer may specify a time period or location at which the consumerwishes to receive commercial incentives. However, these examples areprovided by way of illustration only, and persons skilled in therelevant art(s) will appreciate that numerous other parameters,including but not limited to numerous temporal, spatial, social andtopical parameters, may be specified by a consumer in regard to thereceipt of commercial incentives.

Consumer interface 202 may be further configured to permit a consumer toprovide information to CI engine 102 that is not directly related to thereceipt of commercial incentives but that is nevertheless used by CIengine 102 to determine which commercial incentives will be distributedto the consumer and when such commercial incentives should bedistributed. For example, consumer interface 202 may be configured torequest information from the consumer concerning particular areas ofinterest to the consumer (e.g., in the form of a questionnaire orsurvey). This information may then used by CI engine 102 to facilitatetargeting of commercial incentives in a manner that will be described inmore detail herein.

Consumer interface 202 may be still further configured to allow aconsumer to perform other management functions relating to the receiptof commercial incentives from CI engine 102. These management functionsmay include, but are not limited to, specifying one or more electronicsystems or devices associated with the consumer that should receivecommercial incentives from CI engine 102. Consumer interface 202 mayalso provide an accounting interface by which a consumer can registerfor compensation or awards associated with the redistribution ofcommercial incentives.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, CI engine 102 doesnot include consumer interface 202 as described above. This may bebecause in such an embodiment, commercial incentives are automaticallysent to consumers systems/devices 112 or, alternatively, the process foropting in is handled via another channel.

3. CI Manager 204

CI Manager 204 is a component that is configured to allow an advertiserto interact with CI engine 102 from a remote location for the purpose ofcreating or otherwise providing one or more commercial incentives fordistribution to consumers as well as to perform other functions. Suchother functions may include specifying targeting criteria that are usedto match commercial incentives to consumers, modifying an existingcommercial incentive that has already been distributed to consumers, orproviding information that is subsequently used by CI engine 102 toautomatically modify a commercial incentive that has already beendistributed to consumers. Information provided by an advertiser throughinteraction with CI manager 204 is stored in advertiser data database214.

In one embodiment of the present invention, advertisers communicate withCI Manager using applications built upon a predefined API. Suchapplications may be published by an entity that owns and/or operates CIengine 102 or by other entities. Communication between advertisers andCI manager 204 may occur over the Internet. However, the invention isnot so limited, and communication between advertisers and CI manager 204may occur over any type of network or combination of networks includingwide area networks, local area networks, private networks, publicnetworks, packet networks, circuit-switched networks, and wired orwireless networks.

To facilitate the creation of a commercial incentive, CI manager 204 maybe configured to allow an advertiser to create, select or provide mediacontent (e.g., copy) to be associated with a commercial incentive suchas text, graphics, video or audio content to be associated with thecommercial incentive. CI manager 204 may also be configured to allow anadvertiser to create, select or input terms associated with thecommercial incentive. Such terms may include but are not limited to anidentification of the product or service to which the commercialincentive relates, an incentive model (e.g., discount, rebate, “buy oneget one free”, etc.), a discount amount (expressed in terms of an amountof money or percentage of a price), a rebate amount, a reward amount(e.g., airline miles), duration of an offer, or an identification ofadditional products or services to be delivered to a consumer uponredemption of the commercial incentive.

CI manager 204 may be further configured to allow an advertiser tomodify an existing commercial incentive that has already beendistributed to consumers, wherein modifying the existing commercialincentive may include, but is not limited to, adding, deleting,modifying or replacing media content or terms associated with theexisting commercial incentive. For example, and without limitation, anadvertiser may change one or more elements of the ad copy associatedwith an existing commercial incentive, increase or decrease a discountamount or rebate amount associated with an existing commercialincentive, reduce or extend the duration of an offer, or even terminatean offer.

In addition to providing an advertiser with the ability to createcommercial incentives and modify existing commercial incentives thathave already been distributed to consumers, CI manager 204 may beconfigured to permit an advertiser to specify targeting informationassociated with one or more commercial incentives. Such targetinginformation may include but is not limited to an identification of aparticular demographic to which the commercial incentive(s) aredirected, wherein the demographic may be based on any variable includingbut not limited to age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, location ofresidence, socioeconomic status, religion, marital status, ownership(home, car, pet, etc.), language, mobility, or life cycle (e.g.,fertility, mortality, migration).

Such targeting information may also include spatial information,temporal information, social information and/or topical information. Anexample of spatial targeting information is an area, zone or geographicregion in which the commercial incentive is to be distributed. Anexample of temporal targeting information is a time period during whichthe commercial incentive is to be distributed, a frequency ofdistribution, or a recurring temporal event such as a birthday oranniversary. An example of social targeting information is a targetsocial group or network to which the commercial incentive is to bedistributed. An example of topical targeting information includes anidentification of subject matter to which the commercial incentiveshould be linked or associated. These examples are provided by way ofillustration only, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

In an embodiment, CI manager 204 is also configured to allow anadvertiser to provide information about a marketing campaign with whichone or more commercial incentives are associated. The campaigninformation may include, for example, commercial goals associated with acampaign or commercial incentive parameters associated with thecampaign. Depending upon the implementation, CI manager 204 may also beconfigured to provide tracking and/or analytics tools by which anadvertiser may track the history of one or more commercial incentives ormarketing campaigns.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, CI manager204 is also configured to receive business information from advertisers.Such business information may include transaction logs that indicatewhen a commercial incentive has been redeemed. These transaction logsmay be used by CI engine 102 to perform or facilitate accountingfunctions, such as determining an amount of payment due to the operatorof CI engine 102 as well as other distributor(s) of the commercialincentive upon redemption of the commercial incentive.

Furthermore, depending upon the implementation, business informationthat is provided by the advertiser may also be used by CI manager 204 toautomatically modify terms associated with one or more existingcommercial incentives that have already been distributed to consumers.For example, certain terms of a commercial incentive may beautomatically modified responsive to business information provided froman advertiser such as inventory levels, gross receipts, number ofon-site customers, or the like. Such business information may beperiodically provided so that the information accurately reflects thebusiness conditions in which the advertiser is currently operating. Thisautomatic modification may also take into account campaign informationassociated with the commercial incentive, such as commercial goals andcommercial incentive parameters.

4. Advertiser Data Database 214

As noted above, information provided by an advertiser throughinteraction with CI manager 204 is stored in advertiser data database214. As shown in FIG. 4, advertiser data database 214 may include threetypes of data: advertiser entity data 402, CI content data 404, andmarketing data.

Advertiser entity data 402 includes data about each advertiser that hasregistered to use CI engine 102 for the distribution of commercialincentives. Advertiser entity data 402 may include, for example, basicinformation such as organization name, address, city, state, zip code,country, telephone number, facsimile number, tax ID (SSN/EIN), taxclassification, and/or VAT number. Furthermore, advertiser entity data402 may also include information about a contact person, wherein suchinformation may include the contact person's first and last name,title/function within the organization, telephone number and e-mailaddress.

Advertiser entity data 402 may also include transaction informationconcerning commercial incentives distributed or redeemed through CIengine 102. This transaction information may be used to facilitatepayment to the owner of CI engine 102 in instances where payment forcommercial incentive distribution is tied to the number of commercialincentives redeemed or to a value associated with each redeemedcommercial incentive. Such transaction information may be tracked at oneor more of the commercial incentive level, the campaign level, or theadvertiser level.

Advertiser entity data 402 may further include periodically-updatedbusiness information provided by an advertiser, such as informationrelating to inventory levels, gross receipts, number of on-sitecustomers, or the like. As noted above, CI manager 204 may use suchinformation to automatically modify terms associated with one or moreexisting commercial incentives that have already been distributed toconsumers.

CI content data 404 includes media content (e.g., copy) associated witha commercial incentive such as text, graphics, video or audio contentassociated with the commercial incentive including modular contentcomponents assembled at delivery time based upon user characteristics ordata. CI content data 404 also includes terms associated with acommercial incentive, including but not limited to an identification ofthe product or service to which the commercial incentive relates, anincentive model, a discount amount, a rebate amount, a duration of anoffer, or an identification of additional products or services to bedelivered to a consumer upon redemption of the commercial incentive.

Market data 404 includes data concerning a marketing campaign with whichone or more commercial incentives may be associated. Such campaigninformation may include, for example, commercial goals associated with acampaign or commercial incentive parameters associated with thecampaign. Market data 404 may also include targeting informationassociated with one or more commercial incentives or with a campaign. Asnoted above, such targeting information may include but is not limitedto an identification of a particular demographic to which the commercialincentive(s) are directed and may also include spatial information,temporal information, social information and/or topical information.

5. Distribution Manager 206

Distribution manager 206 is a component that is configured to receivevalid commercial incentives created by an advertiser through interactionwith CI manager 204 and to prepare such commercial incentives fordistribution to consumers. Distribution manager 206 prepares thecommercial incentives for distribution by populating them into an activeCI graph 216 of commercial incentives that are immediately available fordistribution to consumers. CI graph 216 comprises an abstractmathematical representation of all currently commercial incentives in aformat that facilitates fast and efficient matching to consumers basedon both targeting and other data associated with the commercialincentive and user data associated with the consumers. In oneembodiment, CI graph 216 comprises a multi-dimensional graph whereineach dimension represents one variable upon which such matching may beperformed.

Distribution manager 206 is also configured to track commercialincentives after they have been distributed from CI engine 102 to aconsumer system/device. In one embodiment, such tracking is facilitatedby assigning each commercial incentive a unique CI identifier (ID) upondistribution to a consumer, and mapping the unique CI ID to a uniqueconsumer system/device. Distribution manager 206 is further configuredto use such tracking functionality to update distributed commercialincentives that have been augmented by an advertiser via CI manager 204.All communication between distribution manager 206 and consumersystems/devices 112 for the purposes of tracking and updatingdistributed commercial incentives is carried out through communicationsmanager 210.

In addition to publishing new commercial incentives into active CI graph216 and updating augmented commercial incentives, distribution manager206 is also configured to remove expired commercial incentives from theactive CI graph 216, as well as from consumer systems/devices whenappropriate.

In an embodiment, distribution manager 206 is also configured to receiveand process information regarding the redemption of commercialincentives. This information concerning the redemption of commercialincentives may be provided to distribution manager 206 from a consumersystem/device or network node in CI distribution network 104 (viacommunications manager 210) or may be provided by the advertiser thatsponsored the incentive via CI manager 204 (e.g., in the form oftransaction logs). Distribution manager 206 may use such information tofacilitate payment of certain parties based on the redemption of acommercial incentive. In an alternate embodiment, this function ishandled by a third party system that is external to CI engine 102.

6. Matching Manager 208

Matching manager 208 is a component that is configured to comparecommercial incentives populated in active CI graph 216 with user datafrom database 212 for the purpose of selectively distributing commercialincentives to consumers. Matching manager 208 is configured to matchcommercial incentives to consumers by comparing targeting data and/orother information associated with the commercial incentives to user dataassociated with the consumers, wherein the user data may includespatial, temporal, social and/or topical data as described above. Whenmatching manager 208 has determined that a commercial incentive is to bedistributed to a particular consumer, it effects such distribution bysending the commercial incentive to communications manager 210 fortransmission to a system/device associated with the consumer via CIdistribution network 104.

Matching manager 208 may perform such matching responsive to thepopulation of a new commercial incentive into active CI graph 216.Alternatively or additionally, matching manager 208 may perform suchmatching responsive to receiving a request from a consumer system/deviceor node within CI distribution network 104. Such request may be receivedvia communications manager 210.

The manner in which matching manager 208 operates to effect targeteddistribution of commercial incentives in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention will be described in more detail below.

7. Communications Manager 210

Communications manager 210 is a component that manages all communicationbetween CI engine 102 and consumer systems/devices 112 and nodesresiding on CI distribution network 104. Communications manager 210 isconfigured to perform, among other functions, the transmission ofcommercial incentives selected by matching manager 208 to consumersystems/devices 112 over CI distribution network 104. Communicationsmanager 210 may also be further configured to communicate with consumersystems/devices 112 over CI distribution network 104 for the purposes oftracking acceptance, lock-in, or redemption of commercial incentives andfor the purposes of updating distributed commercial incentives.Depending upon the implementation, communications manager 210 may alsobe configured to interoperate with third party carriers and networks toeffect communications.

B. Targeted Distribution of Commercial Incentives

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 of a method for performing targeteddistribution of commercial incentives in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. The steps of flowchart 500 will now bedescribed with continued reference to exemplary commercial incentiveengine 102 described above in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, although themethod is not limited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method of flowchart 500 begins at step 502, inwhich user data associated with a plurality of consumers is obtained andstored. As noted above, this user data may be actively provided by aconsumer (such as via consumer interface 202), collected from consumersystems/devices 112 via CI distribution network 104 or some otherchannel, provided to CI engine 102 from some other network, system ordatabase that aggregates such data, or by any combination of theforegoing. As further noted above, the user data stored may includespatial data, temporal data, social data and/or topical data associatedwith a consumer, as well as information deduced therefrom. Onceobtained, the user data is stored in user data database 212.

At step 504, commercial incentives and targeting data associatedtherewith are obtained and stored. As described above, an advertiser maycreate or provide a commercial incentive through interaction with CImanager 204. The advertiser may also provide targeting data associatedwith the commercial incentive via CI manager 204. Alternatively oradditionally, CI manager 204 may automatically infer targeting data forthe commercial incentive based on the source, content and/or termsassociated with the commercial incentive. The commercial incentive andtargeting data associated therewith is stored in advertiser datadatabase 214. When the commercial incentive is ready for distribution,distribution manager 206 populates the commercial incentive into activeCI graph 216 of commercial incentives ready for distribution. The mannerin which the commercial incentive is populated into CI graph 216 maydepend upon the targeting data associated with the commercial incentive.

At step 506, the commercial incentives ready for distribution arematched to consumers based at least in part on the targeting dataassociated with the consumer incentives and user data associated withthe consumers. In commercial incentive engine 102, this function isperformed by matching manager 208. To perform this function, matchingmanager 208 matches commercial incentives represented in active CI graph216 with user data obtained from user data database 212. At step 508,commercial incentives that have been matched to consumers aretransmitted to the selected consumers over CI distribution network 104.In commercial incentive engine 102, this transmission is managed bycommunications manager 210.

The ability to match commercial incentives with consumers based ontargeting data associated with the commercial incentive and user dataassociated with consumers in the manner described above advantageouslyallows for highly-targeted delivery of commercial incentives to theconsumers that are most likely to use them. Because both the targetingdata and the user data may include spatial, temporal, social and topicaldata, matching may be performed based on any or all of these data types,as well as based on any combination of these data types.

For example, in one implementation, the user data includes spatial datacorresponding to the current location of a consumer and the targetingdata associated with the commercial incentive specifies a target areawithin which the commercial incentive is to be delivered. If the currentlocation of the consumer is within the target area, then matchingmanager 208 will match the commercial incentive to the consumer and thecommercial incentive will be transmitted to the consumer bycommunications manager 210. Such an implementation may be used, forexample, to provide commercial incentives to consumers when they arewithin close proximity of a business, product, service, activity orattraction to which the commercial incentive applies or to which thecommercial incentive is otherwise related. Such an implementation can beused, for example, to deliver commercial incentives to consumers whenthey are physically located in an area in which it is convenient toredeem the incentive.

As another example, in one implementation, the user data includestemporal data corresponding to the consumer and the targeting dataassociated with the commercial incentive specifies a target time periodassociated with the commercial incentive. If the temporal data fallswithin the target time period, then matching manager 208 will match thecommercial incentive to the consumer and the commercial incentive willbe transmitted to the consumer by communications manager 210. Such animplementation may be used, for example, to provide commercialincentives to consumers at times when they are most likely to purchase aparticular product or service or to participate in a certain activity orattraction (e.g., a commercial incentive for a restaurant may bedelivered during a time period when a user typically eats or isscheduled to eat lunch). Such an implementation may also be used, forexample, to deliver commercial incentives to consumers in recognition ofcertain temporal events associated with a consumer (e.g., a commercialincentive delivered on a consumer's birthday).

As a further example, in one implementation, the user data includessocial data, wherein the social data includes an identification of aplurality of users with whom the consumer is socially connected, and thetargeting data includes an identification of other users that havereceived the commercial incentive. If at least one of the users thathave received the commercial incentive is within the plurality of userswith whom the consumer is socially connected, then matching manager 208will match the commercial incentive to the consumer and the commercialincentive will be transmitted to the consumer by communications manager210. Such an implementation allows commercial incentives to bepropagated within social networks, and to spread among interconnectedsocial networks. Commercial incentives distributed in such a mannercarry an implicit social endorsement with them which may make them ofmore interest to a consumer than if the incentives had been received viasome other channel. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in therelevant art(s), such distribution within and among social networks canbe limited or weighted by other factors, such as but not limited tointerest, activity, intimacy, proximity, relatedness and willingness toshare.

As a still further example, in one implementation, the user dataincludes topical data indicating an area of interest to the consumer.The area of interest may be determined by any of a wide variety ofvariables and interactions associated with the consumer which have beendiscussed in detail above. If matching manager 208 determines, based onthe explicit or inferred targeting data, that a commercial incentive isrelated to the area of interest of the consumer, then matching manager208 will match the commercial incentive to the consumer and thecommercial incentive will be transmitted to the consumer bycommunications manager 210. This implementation can be used to delivercommercial incentives to consumers that relate to the products,services, activities and attractions that the consumer has demonstratedan interest in.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, matching ofcommercial incentives to consumers may be performed using anycombination of spatial, temporal, social and topical user/targetingdata, thereby allowing commercial incentives to be delivered toconsumers in highly targeted fashion. The use of a wide variety ofvariables, including real-time information concerning the location of auser in spatial, temporal and social spaces, allows for extremelygranular and precise matching, as well as a personalized userexperience.

To illustrate this, FIG. 6 depicts a diagram 600 of various stages thata consumer may pass through between first becoming aware of a product orservice through actually purchasing the product or service. These stagesare sometimes referred to by marketers as the “purchase funnel.” Asshown in FIG. 6, the stages include awareness 602, familiarity 604,opinion 606, intention 608, shopping 610 and purchase 612.

An embodiment of the present invention allows consumers to be identifiedthat are within a particular stage of the purchase funnel with respectto a particular product/service and then to deliver targeted commercialincentives to those consumers. Consumers at different stages of thefunnel can be targeted depending upon the desires of the advertiser.Also, an advertiser may provide different incentives to consumers thatare located within different stages of the purchase funnel depending ona marketing strategy.

Thus, for example, if the advertiser is an automobile dealership, userdata associated with a consumer may reveal that the consumer has beendownloading advertising content relating to cars that are sold at thedealership, that the user has applied for a car loan, and that the useris currently driving in the neighborhood of the dealership. Conceptuallyspeaking, the consumer can be said to have progressed to a later stagewithin the purchase funnel. In this case, the commercial incentiveengine can identify such a consumer as an extremely valuable lead andtarget commercial incentives relating to the cars sold at the dealershipto the consumer. Thus, a commercial incentive engine in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention advantageously provides anadvertiser with the ability to identify such valuable leads in anevolving and dynamic manner and to deliver commercial incentives tothose leads at a time when it is most likely to influence purchasingdecisions and/or most convenient for the consumer to make a purchase.

Although an implementation of the present invention may use anycombination of social, spatial, temporal and topical data to performtargeted distribution of commercial incentives, by examining theintersection of all four types of data, patterns of consumer behaviormay be revealed that can be used to enhance both targeting of a consumerin a particular stages of the purchase funnel as well as providing moreuseful commercial incentive service to the consumer by a networkoperator.

C. Dynamic Augmentation of Commercial Incentives

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart 700 of a method for dynamically augmenting acommercial incentive in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The steps of flowchart 700 will now be described withcontinued reference to exemplary commercial incentive engine 102described above in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, although the method isnot limited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 7, the method of flowchart 700 begins at step 702, inwhich an advertiser creates or provides a commercial incentive. Asdescribed above, an advertiser may create or provide a commercialincentive through interaction with CI manager 204. The commercialincentive, and any targeting data associated therewith, is stored inadvertiser data database 214. When the commercial incentive is ready fordistribution, distribution manager 206 populates the commercialincentive into active CI graph 216 of commercial incentives ready fordistribution.

At step 704, the commercial incentive created or provided in step 702 isdistributed to a consumer via a network. As described above, incommercial incentive engine 102, this step may occur responsive to thematching of the commercial incentive to the consumer by matching manager208. The actual transmission of the commercial incentive from commercialincentive engine 102 to the consumer is managed by communicationsmanager 210 and takes place over CI distribution network 104.

At step 706, content and/or terms associated with the commercialincentive are modified. Modifying content associated with the commercialincentive may include, but is not limited to, modifying media contentsuch as text, graphics, video or audio content associated with thecommercial incentive. Modifying terms associated with the content mayinclude, but is not limited to, modifying an identification of theproduct or service to which the commercial incentive relates, anincentive model, a discount amount (expressed in terms of an amount ofmoney or percentage of a price), a rebate amount, duration of an offer,or an identification of additional products or services to be deliveredto a consumer upon redemption of the commercial incentive.

In commercial incentive engine 102, CI manager 204 is responsible formodifying the content and/or terms of the commercial incentive. CImanager 204 may perform this function responsive to revisions to thecontent and/or terms input by advertisers 110 via an interface to CImanager 204. To this end, CI manager 204 may include interface tools foreasily allowing an advertiser to revise the content and/or termsassociated with an existing commercial incentive or to manage multipleversions of commercial incentive copy.

Alternatively or additionally, CI manager 204 may modify the contentand/or terms of the commercial incentive responsive to businessinformation provided by advertisers 110 via an interface to CI manager204. For example, CI manager 204 may modify the content and/or terms ofthe commercial incentive responsive to information such as inventorylevels, gross receipts, number of on-site customers, or the like. Suchbusiness information may be periodically provided so that theinformation accurately reflects the business conditions in which theadvertiser is currently operating. CI manager 204 may also take intoaccount campaign information associated with the commercial incentive,such as commercial goals and commercial incentive parameters, whenperforming the modification.

At step 708, the modified content and/or terms associated with thecommercial incentive are transmitted to the consumer via the network. Incommercial incentive engine 102, this function is performed bydistribution manager 206, which invokes communications manager 210 totransmit the modified content and/or terms to the consumer via CIdistribution network 104. At step 710, the consumer system/devicereceives the modifications and updates a local copy of the commercialincentive accordingly. In one embodiment, only modified aspects of thecommercial incentive are transmitted to the consumer system/device,while in an alternative embodiment an entirely new commercial incentivethat includes the modified aspects is transmitted to the consumer/systemdevice.

The ability of an advertiser to modify the terms of a commercialincentive responsive to changing business conditions (either by directlychanging the terms or by electing that such terms be modifiedautomatically in response to current business information as describedabove) presents a distinct advantage over conventional commercialincentive distribution and redemption practices. Conventional commercialincentives have terms that must remain fixed so long as the incentive isvalid. In contrast, an embodiment of the present invention allows anadvertiser to, for example, increase the value of a commercial incentiveduring slow times and then decrease it again during good times. Asanother example, an embodiment of the present invention allows anadvertiser to alter the value of the commercial incentive responsive towhether or not certain campaign goals are being met over time, in effectallowing an advertiser to increase or decrease the value of theincentive for all or a select set of targeted consumers.

Other dynamic augmentations strategies and approaches may be used. Forexample, to attract business during slow times an advertiser maydesignate a certain night a “2× coupon” night and during that timeperiod double the value of certain commercial incentives. In contrast,during good times, an advertiser may designate a certain night a “nocoupon night,” and not honor any commercial incentives during that timeperiod. As another example, to attract business, an advertiser may electto honor commercial incentives published by a competitor (this may bethought of as changing the terms associated with the competitor'scommercial incentives). However, these examples are not intended to belimiting and persons skilled in the relevant art(s) will readilyappreciate that other methods for changing the terms a commercialincentive to respond to changing business conditions are encompassed bythe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a commercial incentive engine 800 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Thisalternate embodiment allows the content and/or terms associated with acommercial incentive to be dynamically determined prior to distribution.The content and/or terms may be automatically determined based on userdata associated with the consumer to whom the incentive is to bedistributed.

As shown in FIG. 8, commercial incentive engine 800 includes a number ofcommunicatively-connected elements including a consumer interface 802, aCI manager 804, a distribution manager 806, a matching manager 808, acommunications manager 810, a user data database 812, an advertiser datadatabase 814, and an active CI graph 816. With the exception of certainfunctions to be described immediately below, each of these elementsperforms essentially the same functions as described above in referenceto like-named elements of commercial incentive engine 102.

The manner in which commercial incentive engine 800 operates todynamically determine content and/or terms to be associated with acommercial incentive prior to distribution to a consumer will now bedescribed in reference to flowchart 900 of FIG. 9.

At step 902, matching manager 808 matches a commercial incentive to aconsumer based on user data associated with the consumer and ontargeting data associated with the commercial incentive in a mannerpreviously-described. After performing this matching function, matchingmanager 808 further conveys the user data associated with the consumer,or a portion thereof, to CI manager 804.

At step 904, CI manager 804 determines the content and/or terms to beassociated with the commercial incentive based at least in part on theuser data conveyed from matching manager 808. The content and/or termsmay also be determined based on business information and/or campaigngoals provided by an advertiser.

At step 906, CI manager 804 associates the determined content and/orterms with the commercial incentive.

At step 908, distribution manager 806 distributes the commercialincentive to the consumer over CI distribution network 104. To performthis function, distribution manager 806 invokes communications manager810.

The foregoing implementation is advantageous because it allows anadvertiser to uniquely adapt the content and/or terms of a commercialincentive to the consumer that is going to receive it. By using spatial,temporal, social and topical data associated with a consumer, anincentive can be crafted in a manner that will generate the greatestamount of interest by the consumer. Thus, commercial incentives may befully personalized. By way of example, the content of a commercialincentive may be selected to conform to the aesthetic preferences of theconsumer. As another example, the terms of the commercial incentive maybe varied responsive to the level of interest the consumer hasdemonstrated in a particular product or service (e.g., increasing thevalue of the incentive for consumers that have not shown an interest topull them into the purchase funnel) or responsive to the physicalproximity of the consumer to a business, product, service, activity orattraction to which the commercial incentive applies (e.g., offeringadditional value to consumers very close to a retail store to compelthem to enter the store). As another example, a commercial incentive maybe modified to include an endorsement from another consumer.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the dynamicmodification of a commercial incentive that has already been distributedto a consumer (as described above in reference to flowchart 700 of FIG.7) may also take into account user data associated with the consumer.This allows the incentive to be modified in a manner that is responsiveto dynamically-changing factors associated with a consumer, such aslocation, areas of interest, social networks, and the like. By way ofexample, an advertiser interested in attracting immediate business mayuse such an embodiment to increase the value of commercial incentivescarried by consumers that are currently most likely to use them asdetermined based on user data. Such consumers may include, for example,consumers that are physically closest to the advertiser's place ofbusiness.

Consumers may not be enamored of a system in which the value of acommercial incentive resident on the consumer system/device can bedynamically reduced, or in which a commercial incentive can bedynamically terminated or expired by an advertiser. To address this, anembodiment of the present invention allows a consumer to “lock in” thevalue or terms of a commercial incentive resident on the consumer systemor device for a certain period of time in order to register an intentionto use it. Distribution manager 206 of commercial incentive engine 102may be configured to track whether or not a distributed commercialincentive has been locked in by a consumer. When a distributedcommercial incentive has been locked in, distribution manager 206ensures that the locked in terms of the distributed commercial incentiveare not altered and that the lock-in expires when the lock-in period isover.

D. Redistribution of Commercial Incentives among Consumers

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, commercialincentives received by a consumer device may be redistributed to otherconsumer devices, thereby facilitating the sharing and/or transport ofcommercial incentives between and among consumers. Redistribution of acommercial incentive involves the transmission of a unique andredeemable copy of a commercial incentive from a first consumer deviceto a second consumer device. As will be discussed in more detail below,this redistribution may occur when two or more consumers carryingproperly-configured devices find themselves within the same proximitynetwork or within the same social network.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary system 1000 that facilitates theredistribution of commercial incentives between consumer devices inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.10, system 1000 includes a first consumer device 1002 and a secondconsumer device 1004. First and second consumer devices 1002 and 1004may each comprise any type of processor-based user device, including butnot limited to a laptop computer, cellular phone, personal digitalassistant, portable media player, or the like. For the purposes ofcommercial incentive redistribution within proximity networks, it ispreferable that at least one or both of first consumer device 1002 andsecond consumer device 1004 is a mobile or portable device, although theinvention is not so limited.

First consumer device 1002 includes a number ofcommunicatively-connected components, including a network interface1012, a local CI manager 1014, and a CI redistributor 1016. Networkinterface 1012 is configured to allow first consumer device 1002 tocommunicate with other entities over a network, wherein suchcommunication may include the sending or receiving of commercialincentives as described in more detail herein. Local CI manager 1014 isconfigured to store received commercial incentives and to present a userinterface (such as a graphical user interface) to a user of firstconsumer device 1002. The user interface allows the user to managereceived commercial incentives, wherein managing the received commercialincentives may include performing a variety of functions, such asviewing, organizing, locking-in, deleting, printing, redistributing orredeeming received commercial incentives. CI redistributor 1016 isconfigured to redistribute a commercial incentive stored by local CImanager 1014 to one or more other consumer devices via network interface1012. Depending upon the implementation, such redistribution may occurautomatically or responsive to a user command entered via a userinterface associated with local CI manager 1014.

Second consumer device 1004 also includes a number ofcommunicatively-connected components, including a network interface1022, a local CI manager 1024, and a CI redistributor 1026. Thesecomponents perform similar functions to network interface 1012, local CImanager 1014, and CI redistributor 1016, respectively, as describedabove in reference to first consumer device 1002. However, thesecomponents may be configured differently if second consumer device 1004is a different type of consumer device than first consumer device 1002.Also, it should be noted that to perform redistribution of commercialincentives, only one of first and second consumer devices 1002 and 1004needs to include a CI redistributor component. Thus, in oneimplementation, some consumer devices are capable of receivingcommercial incentives only while other consumer devices are capable ofboth receiving and redistributing commercial incentives.

As further shown in FIG. 10, a commercial incentive may be transmittedfrom network interface 1012 of first consumer device 1002 to networkinterface 1022 of second consumer device 1004 or from network interface1022 of second consumer device 1004 to network interface 1012 of firstconsumer device 1002. Various scenarios in which such transmission mayoccur will now be described.

In an embodiment of the present invention, redistribution of acommercial incentive from a first consumer device to a second consumerdevice may occur when both devices are in the same proximity network.This scenario is illustrated in FIG. 11, which shows a first consumer1102 carrying first consumer device 1002 and a second consumer 1104carrying second consumer device 1004, wherein the first and secondconsumer devices 1002 and 1004 are each communicatively connected to theother via a proximity network 1106. As used herein, the term proximitynetwork refers to a wireless connection that exists between one or moreconsumer devices by virtue of the proximity of those devices to eachother or to one or more common network nodes. Communication between theconsumer devices may be peer-to-peer communication or communication viathe network node(s). Examples of proximity networks include but are notlimited to an 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) or a Bluetoothpiconet or scatternet.

FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart 1200 of a method for redistributing acommercial incentive from a first consumer device to a second consumerdevice via a proximity network in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. For the sake of illustration, the method of flowchart1200 will be described with continued reference to elements of system1000 of FIG. 10, although the method is not limited to that particularimplementation.

As shown in FIG. 12, the method of flowchart 1200 begins at step 1202,in which first consumer device 1002 receives a commercial incentive. Thecommercial incentive may be received from a commercial incentive engine,such as commercial incentive engine 102, or from another consumerdevice. The commercial incentive may be received via network interface1012 or some other network interface of consumer device 1002. Responsiveto the receipt of the commercial incentive, local CI manager 1014 storesthe commercial incentive within first consumer device 1002.

At step 1204, first consumer device 1002 becomes communicativelyconnected to second consumer device 1004 via proximity network 1106.This step may occur, for example, when first and second consumers 1102and 1104 carry consumer devices 1002 and 1004, respectively, within acertain proximity of each other or a common wireless access point.

At step 1206, CI redistributor 1002 within first consumer device 1002detects the presence of second consumer device 1004 on proximity network1106 and optionally determines that second consumer device 1004 iseligible to receive a redistributed copy of the commercial incentivereceived in step 1202. Determining that second consumer device 1004 iseligible to receive a copy of the commercial incentive may entailcommunicating with second consumer device 1004 or another entity (e.g.,commercial incentive engine 102) to obtain eligibility informationassociated with second consumer 1104. Such eligibility information mayinclude but is not limited to configuration and/or preference dataexplicitly provided by second consumer 1104 or information derived fromuser data associated with second consumer 1104.

At step 1208, responsive to detecting the presence of second consumerdevice 1004 on proximity network 1106 and optionally determining thatsecond consumer device 1004 is eligible to receive a redistributed copyof the commercial incentive received in step 1202, CI redistributor 1016within first consumer device 1002 creates a copy of the commercialincentive and transmits the copy to second consumer device 1004 vianetwork interface 1012. During or subsequent to this step, CIredistributor 1016 may also communicate with a distribution managerwithin a commercial incentive engine (such as distribution manager 206within commercial incentive engine 102) to notify the distributionmanager that the redistribution has occurred, so that the distributionmanager can track the newly-created and redistributed copy of thecommercial incentive.

At step 1210, second consumer device 1004 receives the redistributedcopy of the commercial incentive via network interface 1022. Responsiveto the receipt of the redistributed copy of the commercial incentive,local CI manager 1024 stores the commercial incentive within secondconsumer device 1004. During or subsequent to this step, local CImanager 1024 may also communicate with a distribution manager within acommercial incentive engine (such as distribution manager 206 withincommercial incentive engine 102) to notify the distribution manager ofthe receipt of the redistributed commercial incentive, so that thedistribution manager can track the newly-created and redistributed copyof the commercial incentive and update user records.

In an embodiment of the present invention, redistribution of acommercial incentive from a first consumer device to a second consumerdevice may also occur when the consumers carrying the devices are withinthe same social network. Such redistributed commercial incentives may beconsidered “socially endorsed” since they originate from persons withina consumer's social network.

This scenario is illustrated in FIG. 13, which shows a first consumer1302 carrying first consumer device 1002 and a second consumer 1304carrying second consumer device 1004, wherein the first and secondconsumers 1302 and 1304 are connected via a social network 1306associated with first consumer 1302. Note that although second consumer1304 is shown as being directly connected to first consumer 1302 withinsocial network 1306, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, redistribution of a commercial incentive may occur from firstconsumer 1302 to any or all of the consumers within social network 1306,even when the connection with first consumer 1302 is indirect. Statedanother way, second consumer 1304 may be any of the consumers withinsocial network 1306, regardless of the degree of separation from firstconsumer 1302. Furthermore, second consumer 1304 may even be added tosocial network 1306 by virtue of the act of commercial incentivedistribution.

FIG. 14 depicts a flowchart 1400 of a method for redistributing acommercial incentive from a first consumer to a second consumer within asocial network in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. For the sake of illustration, the method of flowchart 1400will be described with continued reference to elements of system 1000 ofFIG. 10, although the method is not limited to that particularimplementation.

As shown in FIG. 14, the method of flowchart 1400 begins at step 1402,in which first consumer device 1002 receives a commercial incentive. Thecommercial incentive may be received from a commercial incentive engine,such as commercial incentive engine 102, or from another consumerdevice. The commercial incentive may be received via network interface1012 or some other network interface of consumer device 1002. Responsiveto the receipt of the commercial incentive, local CI manager 1014 storesthe commercial incentive within first consumer device 1002.

At step 1404, CI redistributor 1016 within first consumer device 1002identifies one or more consumers within a social network of firstconsumer 1302, wherein the one or more consumers includes secondconsumer 1304. This identification may involve accessing locally-storedor remotely-stored data relating to a social network associated withfirst consumer 1302. The remotely-stored data may include user dataassociated with first consumer 1302 that is stored in a commercialincentive engine (such as commercial incentive engine 102).

Step 1404 may optionally include determining that second consumer 1304is eligible to receive a redistributed copy of the commercial incentivereceived in step 1402. Determining that second consumer 1304 is eligibleto receive at least one redistributed commercial incentive may entailcommunicating with second consumer device 1004 or another entity (e.g.,commercial incentive engine 102) to obtain eligibility informationassociated with second consumer 1304. Such eligibility information mayinclude but is not limited to configuration and/or preference dataexplicitly provided by second consumer 1304 or information derived fromuser data associated with second consumer 1304.

At step 1406, responsive to identifying second consumer 1304 andoptionally determining that second consumer 1304 is eligible to receivea redistributed copy of the commercial incentive received in step 1402,CI redistributor 1016 within first consumer device 1002 creates a copyof the commercial incentive and transmits the copy to second consumerdevice 1004 via network interface 1012. During or subsequent to thisstep, CI redistributor 1016 may also communicate with a distributionmanager within a commercial incentive engine (such as distributionmanager 206 within commercial incentive engine 102) to notify thedistribution manager that the redistribution has occurred, so that thedistribution manager can track the newly-created and redistributed copyof the commercial incentive and update user records.

At step 1408, second consumer device 1004 receives the redistributedcopy of the commercial incentive via network interface 1022. Responsiveto the receipt of the redistributed copy of the commercial incentive,local CI manager 1024 stores the commercial incentive within secondconsumer device 1004. During or subsequent to this step, local CImanager 1024 may also communicate with a distribution manager within acommercial incentive engine (such as distribution manager 206 withincommercial incentive engine 102) to notify the distribution manager ofthe receipt of the redistributed commercial incentive, so that thedistribution manager can track the newly-created and redistributed copyof the commercial incentive and update user records.

Note that in the method of flowchart 1400, redistribution of thecommercial incentive from first consumer device 1002 to second consumerdevice 1004 need not occur over a proximity network, but can occur overany type of network or combination of networks including wide areanetworks, local area networks, private networks, public networks, packetnetworks, circuit-switched networks, and wired or wireless networks.

As noted above, in one implementation, redistribution of a commercialincentive will only occur responsive to a user command entered via auser interface associated with local CI manager 1014. However, in analternate implementation, redistribution may occur automatically fromone consumer device to another based on temporal and/or social networkconnections. Such an implementation can be used to facilitate “viral”redistribution of commercial incentives among consumers. For example, inaccordance with such an implementation, a single commercial incentivewill automatically propagate to consumers in a first social network.Then, when members of the first social network come into contact withother consumers via proximity networks, those other consumers willreceive the commercial incentive. The commercial incentive will thenpropagate through the social networks associated with those otherconsumers. The process will continue in this fashion, resulting in thewidespread distribution of the commercial incentive among consumers.

In some implementations of the present invention, automaticredistribution may be limited or qualified based on preferences and/oruser data associated with the potential redistributor and/or recipientof the commercial incentive. These preferences and/or user data may bestored locally with respect to a consumer device or stored remotely andaccessed via a network. For example, a consumer may explicitly specifythat he/she does not wish to redistribute/receive commercial incentivesor may specify preferences concerning the amount, frequency, origin, ortype of commercial incentives to be redistributed and/or received.Furthermore, such preferences may be derived or inferred from user dataassociated with the consumer, wherein such consumer data may include butis not limited to numerous temporal, spatial, social and topical dataassociated with the consumer. One benefit of such qualifiedredistribution of commercial incentives is to prohibit the receipt ofundesired or irrelevant commercial incentives by a consumer and toincrease the delivery of explicit offers when considering an actualpurchase (e.g., when buying a car).

In a further implementation of the present invention, the content and/orterms associated with a commercial incentive may be dynamicallyaugmented upon redistribution to another consumer. This dynamicaugmentation may be performed by the redistributing consumer device, thereceiving consumer device, or by an entity connected to these devicesvia a network (such as commercial incentive engine 102). The manner inwhich the commercial incentive is augmented may be based on, forexample, any of a variety of factors relating to the sender and/orrecipient of the redistributed commercial incentive, including spatial,temporal, social and topical data associated with the sender and/orrecipient. In one embodiment, the value of the redistributed commercialincentive may vary depending on the degree to which the redistributorand the recipient are related within a particular social network or thedegree to which the redistributor and the recipient are related to theadvertiser. However, this is only one example, and persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) will appreciate that other factors may be used todetermine the manner in which a redistributed commercial incentiveshould be augmented.

E. Distribution/Redistribution of Commercial Incentives by Network Nodes

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, commercialincentives may be received, stored, distributed and/or redistributed bya node within a CI distribution network, such as CI distribution network104. FIG. 15 illustrates an example system 1500 that includes such anode. In particular, as shown in FIG. 15, system 1500 includes acommercial incentive engine 1502 that is communicatively connected to aCI distribution network 1504. CI distribution network 1504 in turnincludes a network node 1512 that manages a sub-network 1514 within CIdistribution network 1504. In one embodiment of the present invention,node 1512 is a wireless access point and sub-network 1514 is an 802.11WLAN, although the invention is not so limited. Commercial incentiveengine 1502 may be implemented in the same manner as commercialincentive engine 102 as described above in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 orcommercial incentive engine 800 as described above in reference to FIG.8.

As consumer devices pass within the transmission range of node 1512 suchdevices become communicatively connected to node 1512. In FIG. 15, threesuch consumer devices 1522, 1524 and 1526 are shown. When acting as adistributor of commercial incentives, node 1512 receives commercialincentives from commercial incentive engine 1502, stores the commercialincentives locally, and then transmits unique and redeemable copies ofthe stored commercial incentives to consumer devices that becomecommunicatively connected to node 1512, such as any of consumer devices1522, 1524 and 1526. When acting as a redistributor of commercialincentives, node 1512 receives commercial incentives from consumerdevices that become communicatively connected to node 1512, such as anyof consumer devices 1522, 1524 and 1526, stores the commercialincentives locally, and then transmits unique and redeemable copies ofthe stored commercial incentives to other consumer devices that maybecome communicatively connected to the node.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram that shows node 1512 in more detail. As shownin FIG. 16, node 1512 includes a first network interface 1602, a secondnetwork interface 1604, a local CI manager 1606, and a CIdistributor/redistributor 1608. First network interface 1602 isconfigured to facilitate communication with other entities or nodeswithin CI distribution network 1504. Second network interface 1604 isconfigured to facilitate communication with devices, such as consumerdevices, within sub-network 1514. Local CI manager 1606 is configured tostore received commercial incentives and to optionally provide aninterface by which an owner or operator of node 1512 can manage suchcommercial incentives. Such commercial incentives may be received fromcommercial incentive engine 1502 via first network interface 1602 orfrom consumer devices within range of node 1512 via second networkinterface 1602. CI distributor/redistributor 1608 is configured todistribute or redistribute copies of commercial incentives stored bylocal CI manager 1606 to one or more consumer devices within range ofnode 1512 via second network interface 1604.

A method by which a node within a CI distribution network may distributecommercial incentives in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described in reference to flowchart 1700 of FIG.17. The method will be described with continued reference to system 1500of FIG. 15, although the method is not limited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 17, the method of flowchart 1700 begins at step 1702,in which an owner or operator of node 1512 registers with commercialincentive engine 1502 to act as a distributor of commercial incentives.This registration may occur via a publisher registration interfacewithin commercial incentive engine 1502.

At step 1704, responsive to successful registration, commercialincentive engine 1502 transmits commercial incentives to node 1512. Thenumber and type of commercial incentives transmitted to node 1512, aswell as the frequency of transmission, may be determined by inventorymanagement functionality located within commercial incentive engine1502, inventory management functionality located within node 1512, ormay be determined based on a negotiation between such functionalitylocated within each component as well as in response to real-timeusage/popularity. Upon receipt of the commercial incentives fromcommercial incentive engine 1502, node 1512 stores the incentiveslocally.

At step 1706, node 1504 detects a consumer device to which it iscommunicatively connected via sub-network 1514 and optionally determineswhether the consumer device is eligible to receive a copy of thecommercial incentives received in step 1704. Determining whether aconsumer device is eligible to receive a copy of a commercial incentivemay entail communicating with the consumer device or another entity(e.g., commercial incentive engine 102) to obtain eligibilityinformation relating to a consumer associated with the consumer device.Such eligibility information may include but is not limited toconfiguration and/or preference data explicitly provided by the consumeror information derived from user data associated with the consumer.

At step 1708, responsive to detecting the consumer device and tooptionally determining that the consumer device is eligible to receivecopies of the commercial incentives received in step 1704, node 1504creates a copy of each of the commercial incentives and transmits thecopies to the consumer device. During or subsequent to this step, node1504 may also communicate with a distribution manager within commercialincentive engine 1502 to notify the distribution manager that thedistribution has occurred, so that the distribution manager can trackthe newly-created and distributed copies of the commercial incentives.

At step 1710, the consumer device receives and stores the copies of thecommercial incentives. During or subsequent to this step, the consumerdevice may also communicate with a distribution manager withincommercial incentive engine 1502 to notify the distribution manager ofthe receipt of the commercial incentives, so that the distributionmanager can track the newly-created and distributed copies of thecommercial incentives and update node data.

A method by which node within a CI distribution network may redistributecommercial incentives in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described in reference to flowchart 1800 of FIG.18. The method will be described with continued reference to system 1500of FIG. 15, although the method is not limited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 18, the method of flowchart 1800 begins at step 1802,in which an owner or operator of node 1512 registers with commercialincentive engine 1502 to act as a redistributor of commercialincentives. This registration may occur via a publisher registrationinterface within commercial incentive engine 1502.

At step 1804, node 1504 detects a first consumer device withinsub-network 1514 that is carrying a consumer incentive. This step mayoptionally include determining that node 1504 is eligible to receive thecommercial incentive from the first consumer device. The eligibilitychecking may be performed by node 1504, the first consumer device, or byboth.

At step 1806, the first consumer device transmits a copy of thecommercial incentive to node 1504. The process by which the copy of thecommercial incentive is transmitted may be initiated by node 1504 or thefirst consumer device depending on the implementation. At step 1808,node 1504 receives the copy of the commercial incentive and stores itlocally. During or subsequent to these steps, the first consumer deviceand/or node 1504 may also communicate with a distribution manager withincommercial incentive engine 1502 to notify the distribution managerabout the transfer of the commercial incentive, so that the distributionmanager can track the newly-created and redistributed copy of thecommercial incentive and update user/node data.

At step 1810, node 1504 detects a second consumer device withinsub-network 1514. This step may optionally include determining that thesecond consumer device is eligible to receive a copy of the commercialincentive stored in step 1808. The eligibility checking may be performedby node 1504, the second consumer device, or by both.

At step 1812, node 1504 transmits a copy of the commercial incentive tothe second consumer device. The process by which the copy of thecommercial incentive is transmitted may be initiated by node 1504 or thesecond consumer device depending upon the implementation. At step 1814,the second consumer device receives the copy of the commercial incentiveand stores it locally. During or subsequent to these steps, node 1504and/or the second consumer device may also communicate with adistribution manager within commercial incentive engine 1502 to notifythe distribution manager about the transfer of the commercial incentive,so that the distribution manager can track the newly-created andredistributed copy of the commercial incentive.

The use of a distribution/redistribution node such as node 1504advantageously allows a business owner to transmit commercial incentivesto any consumer passing within communication range of the node. Thus,for example, a restaurant owner could use such adistribution/redistribution node to broadcast commercial incentivesrelating to certain menu items to consumers passing within a certaindistance of their storefront because such consumers are more likely totake advantage of the promotion than consumers who are more remotelylocated.

When combined with an implementation that allows for targetedredistribution of commercial incentives among consumers (as discussedabove in Section D), additional benefits may be achieved. For example,assume that a first consumer passes within communication range of thedistribution/redistribution node discussed above and receives a copy ofa commercial incentive relating to a menu item. Although this firstconsumer may not be interested in the promotion, the first consumer maylater pass a second consumer outside of the communication range of thedistribution/redistribution node and automatically redistribute thecommercial incentive to the second consumer based on an indication thatthe second consumer enjoys the type of cuisine offered by therestaurant.

A distribution/redistribution node need not be exclusively associatedwith a single business, but may also act as a hub for receiving andtransmitting commercial incentives associated with a plurality ofbusinesses. For example, a community of business owners may agree toimplement nodes that transmit and receive commercial incentivesassociated with each other's businesses. Furthermore, an owner/operatorof a node may be compensated for distributing/redistributing commercialincentives associated with third party businesses. Compensation may bebased, for example, on the number of commercial incentives stored,distributed, or redistributed by the node or based on a share of therevenue generated by the redemption of commercial incentivesdistributed/redistributed by the node.

The set of commercial incentives made available fordistribution/redistribution by a node at any given time can be aprogrammatic combination of the commercial incentives held, distributedor redeemed by the users of the node and spatial, temporal, social andtopical patterns among them. In accordance with one implementation ofthe present invention, a distribution/redistribution node can weightconsumers and/or commercial incentives in order to provide a betterexperience or targeting of commercial incentives.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a commercial incentive engine 1900 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention thatincludes a publisher interface 1916. Publisher interface 1916 isconfigured to allow an owner or operator of a node to register the nodewith commercial incentive engine 1900 for the purposes of distributingand/or redistributing commercial incentives. The registration processmay allow the node owner/operator to provide identification informationconcerning the owner/operator and/or the node as well as to specifyparameters concerning the receipt, distribution and redistribution ofcommercial incentives. Such parameters may include a specification ofthe desired type, volume, and frequency of delivery of commercialincentives to be transmitted from commercial incentive engine 1900 tothe node. Publisher interface 1916 may also be configured to allow anode owner/operator to provide information that facilitates the makingof payments to the owner/operator upon redemption of commercialincentives that were distributed or redistributed by the node.

As shown in FIG. 19, in addition to publisher interface 1916, commercialincentive engine 1900 includes a number of communicatively-connectedelements including a consumer interface 1902, a CI manager 1904, adistribution manager 1906, a matching manager 1908, a communicationsmanager 1910, a user data database 1912, an advertiser data database1914, and an active CI graph 1916. With the exception of certainfunctions to be described immediately below, each of these elements isconfigured to perform essentially the same functions as described abovein reference to like-named elements of commercial incentive engine 102.

To facilitate redistribution, consumer interface 1902 may be furtherconfigured to allow a consumer to indicate whether or not he/she wishesto participate in the redistribution of commercial incentives, tospecify preferences pertaining to both the sending and receiving ofredistributed commercial incentives, and to provide information thatfacilitates the making of payments (or the delivery of other incentivesor items of value) to the consumer upon redemption of commercialincentives that were redistributed by the consumer.

To facilitate distribution and redistribution, distribution manager 1906may be further configured to authorize, manage and/or track thedistribution of commercial incentives from nodes within CI distributionnetwork 104, and to authorize, manage and/or track the redistribution ofcommercial incentives from nodes and consumer devices within CIdistribution network 104. The management of thedistribution/redistribution of commercial incentives from a node mayinclude managing the inventory of commercial incentives currently storedby or made available to a node. Matching manager 1808 may be furtherconfigured to match commercial incentives to distribution/redistributionnodes based on registration information associated with the nodes.

Communications manager 1910 may be further configured to receiverequests for commercial incentives from distribution/redistributionnodes within CI distribution network 104 and to pass such requests on todistribution manager 1806. Communications manager 1910 may also befurther configured to transmit commercial incentives todistribution/redistribution nodes within CI distribution network 104responsive to signals received from distribution manager 1806 and/ormatching manager 1908.

F. Redemption and Compensation for Distribution/Redistribution ofCommercial Incentives

FIG. 20 depicts a flowchart 2000 of a method for receiving and redeeminga commercial incentive in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The method of flowchart 2000 is described herein by way ofexample only and is not intended to limit the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 20, the method of flowchart 2000 begins at step 2002,in which a consumer receives a commercial incentive on a consumersystem/device. As described in detail above, in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention, the commercial incentive may bereceived from a commercial incentive engine, from adistribution/redistribution node, or from another consumersystem/device.

At step 2004, the consumer either prints a redemption code associatedwith the commercial incentive or displays the redemption code on theconsumer system/device. It may be preferable to print the redemptioncode where the consumer system/device is a stationary system, such as adesktop personal computer (PC). Displaying the redemption code on theconsumer system/device may be preferable where the consumersystem/device is a portable system/device, such as a handheld computingdevice, cellular phone, personal digital assistant, portable mediaplayer, or the like.

Redemption can also occur automatically between a consumer system/deviceand a business owner's physical location node. This business node isresponsible for communicating with a commercial incentive engine, butcan also communicate with commercial incentive bearing/redeeming devicesthrough local proximity networks.

At step 2006, the consumer presents the redemption code to a businessowner or an authorized agent (e.g., a sales representative or cashier)of the business owner. Responsive to the presentation of the redemptioncode, the business owner or agent honors the commercial incentive asshown at step 2008. Honoring the commercial incentive may include, butis not limited to, providing the consumer with a discount or rebaterelating to a particular product or service or providing free productsor services to the consumer. Redemption can be automated through a localbusiness node, triggered by a consumer entering a store, by the consumerselecting or activating a commercial incentive on a consumer device, bya local agent, or the like.

At step 2010, the business owner or agent (or a system used by thebusiness owner or agent), reports the redemption of the commercialincentive back to the advertiser who sponsored the commercial incentiveand/or to a commercial incentive engine that originally distributed thecommercial incentive. This reporting may also be handled automaticallyby a local business node.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, variousmonetization models and revenue-sharing arrangements may be used tocompensate the owner/operator of a commercial incentive engine, anowner/operator of a distribution/redistribution node, or a consumer thathas distributed or redistributed a consumer incentive. Depending uponthe implementation, compensation may occur at the time of distributionor redistribution and/or upon redemption.

FIG. 21 depicts a flowchart 2100 of a method for compensatingdistributors and/or redistributors of a commercial incentive inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In accordancewith the method of flowchart 2100, compensation occurs upon redemptionof a commercial incentive, although the invention is not limited todistributing compensation upon redemption only.

As shown in FIG. 21, the method of flowchart 2100 begins at step 2102,in which a consumer redeems a commercial incentive. As noted above,redemption of a commercial incentive may include presenting a redemptioncode associated with the commercial incentive to a business owner orauthorized agent thereof, although the invention is not so limited.

At step 2104, the redemption of the commercial incentive in step 2102 isreported to a payment entity. In an embodiment in which anowner/operator of a commercial incentive engine is the payment entity,this step may entail reporting the redemption of the commercialincentive to the commercial incentive engine. In an alternativeembodiment in which a party other than the owner/operator of thecommercial incentive engine is the payment entity, this step may entailreporting the redemption of the commercial incentive directly to theother party or to the commercial incentive engine for transmission tothe other party.

At step 2106, the payment entity identifies any distributors and/orredistributors of the commercial incentive. As discussed in detailabove, distributors may include an owner/operator of a commercialincentive engine or an owner/operator of a distribution/redistributionnode, while redistributors may include one or moredistribution/redistribution nodes or consumers. To perform thisfunction, tracking information stored by a distribution manager within acommercial incentive engine (such as distribution manager 206 withincommercial incentive engine 102) may be used. Alternatively oradditionally, tracking information stored along with the redeemed copyof the commercial incentive may be used. Such tracking information mayidentify each entity that has distributed or redistributed thecommercial incentive.

At step 2108, the payment entity authorizes payment to distributorsand/or redistributors of the commercial incentive and at step 2110payment is issued. All distributors and/or redistributors may receivepayment or only selected distributors and/or redistributors may receivepayment as determined in accordance with some predetermined algorithm.Furthermore, the amount of payment may be determined based on a varietyof factors, including an allocated share of the revenue associated withredemption of the commercial incentive.

Depending upon the implementation, the allocated revenue share may befixed or dynamic. For example, the allocated revenue share for aconsumer may be dynamically determined based on past performance,reputation, total spend, intimacy between sender and recipient, or thelike. In one example implementation in which revenue share is based onintimacy between sender and recipient, a consumer may receives morerevenue share for passing a commercial incentive to a stranger thatredeems it than for passing a commercial incentive to someone with whomthey are more intimate, thereby encouraging the consumer to distributethe commercial incentive to strangers. Revenue-sharing among theowners/operators of distribution/redistribution nodes may also bedetermined based on various criteria such as but not limited to specificminimum spend, traffic quality and total spend.

Since a commercial incentive engine in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention can modify terms and state associated with anycommercial incentive not yet redeemed or locked into a value, anotherembodiment of the present invention could provide owners/operators ofdistribution/redistribution nodes with the ability to modify theirrevenue-sharing and other promotional efforts. Such real-time dynamicability could be used to allow advertisers and owners/operators ofdistribution/redistribution nodes to increase lead/traffic generation orquality of leads/traffic.

The foregoing method may be advantageously used to reward or compensatepublishers, consumers and other parties along the distribution path ofthe commercial incentive for their role in transferring the commercialincentive to the consumer who finally redeems it.

Still other methods may be used in accordance with variousimplementations of the present invention to incentivize consumers toparticipate in the dissemination and utilization of commercialincentives. For example, in one embodiment, users are incentivized touse the commercial incentive engine and CI distribution network byrunning a contest that rewards consumers for various achievements suchas most coupons used, most coupons redistributed, most active on thenetwork, or the like.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a consumer is alwayscompensated beyond the basic value of the commercial incentive that isredeemed in the form of network credit or user rewards.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, consumers aretiered according to network participation a tier-based value multiplieris assigned for any commercial incentive that a consumer redeems. Forexample, all base consumers might have a multiplier of 1.0 so that theircommercial incentives all had face value, while more experienced and/oractive consumers could advance with an individual multiplier applied toall their commercial incentives, such as 1.50 times the commercialincentive value. The value differential could be absorbed by theadvertiser and/or distributor/redistributor via a reduction in theallocated share of the revenue/market spend. Multipliers could beapplied across the board for any subject matter or could be variablebased upon the subject matter and specific consumer activity. Forexample, a consumer that writes a lot of network reviews relating tocars, that busy a lot of car products and passes along commercialincentives to others for car products might have an automotivemultiplier that is higher than a Chinese food multiplier.

G. Example Computer System Implementation

Each of the components of commercial incentive engines 102, 800 and 1900described above in reference to FIGS. 1, 8 and 19, respectively, may beimplemented alone or in combination by any well-known processor-basedcomputer system. Likewise, each of first and second consumer devices1002 and 1004 described above in reference to FIG. 10 and node 1512described above in reference to FIG. 15, may be implemented by any wellknown processor-based computer system. An example of such a computersystem 2200 is depicted in FIG. 22.

As shown in FIG. 22, computer system 2200 includes a processing unit2204 that includes one or more processors. Processor unit 2204 isconnected to a communication infrastructure 2202, which may comprise,for example, a bus or a network.

Computer system 2200 also includes a main memory 2206, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 2220.Secondary memory 2220 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 2222,a removable storage drive 2224, and/or a memory stick. Removable storagedrive 2224 may comprise a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, anoptical disk drive, a flash memory, or the like. Removable storage drive2224 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 2228 in awell-known manner. Removable storage unit 2228 may comprise a floppydisk, magnetic tape, optical disk, or the like, which is read by andwritten to by removable storage drive 2224. As will be appreciated bypersons skilled in the relevant art(s), removable storage unit 2228includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computersoftware and/or data.

In alternative implementations, secondary memory 2220 may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 2200. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit 2230 and an interface 2226. Examples of suchmeans may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such asthat found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as anEPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage units2230 and interfaces 2226 which allow software and data to be transferredfrom the removable storage unit 2230 to computer system 2200.

Computer system 2200 may also include a communications interface 2240.Communications interface 2240 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 2200 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 2240 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot andcard, or the like. Software and data transferred via communicationsinterface 2240 are in the form of signals which may be electronic,electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received bycommunications interface 2240. These signals are provided tocommunications interface 1640 via a communications path 2242.Communications path 2242 carries signals and may be implemented usingwire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RFlink and other communications channels.

As used herein, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usablemedium” are used to generally refer to media such as removable storageunit 2228, removable storage unit 2230, a hard disk installed in harddisk drive 2222, and signals received by communications interface 2240.Computer program medium and computer useable medium can also refer tomemories, such as main memory 2206 and secondary memory 2220, which canbe semiconductor devices (e.g., DRAMs, etc.). These computer programproducts are means for providing software to computer system 2200.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic, programminglogic, or logic) are stored in main memory 2206 and/or secondary memory2220. Computer programs may also be received via communicationsinterface 2240. Such computer programs, when executed, enable thecomputer system 2200 to implement features of the present invention asdiscussed herein. Accordingly, such computer programs representcontrollers of the computer system 2200. Where the invention isimplemented using software, the software may be stored in a computerprogram product and loaded into computer system 2200 using removablestorage drive 2224, interface 2226, or communications interface 1640.

The invention is also directed to computer program products comprisingsoftware stored on any computer useable medium. Such software, whenexecuted in one or more data processing devices, causes a dataprocessing device(s) to operate as described herein. Embodiments of thepresent invention employ any computer useable or readable medium, knownnow or in the future. Examples of computer useable mediums include, butare not limited to, primary storage devices (e.g., any type of randomaccess memory), secondary storage devices (e.g., hard drives, floppydisks, CD ROMS, zip disks, tapes, magnetic storage devices, opticalstorage devices, MEMs, nanotechnology-based storage device, etc.), andcommunication mediums (e.g., wired and wireless communication networks,local area networks, wide area networks, intranets, etc.).

H. Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilledin the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, the breadthand scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

For example, although many of the commercial incentives described aboverelate to discounts or rebates associated with a product or service, thepresent invention is not limited to such classic coupon models. Indeed,an embodiment of the present invention may support other diverseincentive models that may be designed by an advertiser to achieve abusiness objective. For example, a commercial incentive could be createdfor in-store events, free samples, or product launch events to drivetraffic, and commercial incentives can also be combined with otherinteractive customer retention and/or marketing surveys that canincrease the reputation of the consumer and/or the value of anassociated consumer incentive including co-branding and collaborativecommercial incentive creation in real-time.

Further, the commercial incentive engine and CI distribution networkdescribed above is not limited to the distribution ofbusiness-originated commercial incentives but could also be used byconsumers in one-off or private commercial activities generallyassociated with classified ads. Thus, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention, each person on the network represents both aconsuming and distribution node, and the commercial incentive engineincludes facilities for consumer-originated commercial incentives to becreated, distributed and redeemed through the network.

Finally, although one or more embodiments of the present invention havebeen described in reference to commercial incentives, persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) will readily appreciate that the embodiments of thepresent invention described herein can also be used to distribute,manage and redeem non-commercial incentives as well. For example andwithout limitation, such non-commercial incentives may includeincentives to perform acts of charity, public service, or civic duty.Thus, the foregoing description of commercial incentives should notlimit the present invention.

1. A method, comprising: providing a consumer with access to anetwork-accessible user interface to an electronic coupon distributionsystem via a Web browser; enabling the consumer to interact with theuser interface via the Web browser to indicate whether or not theconsumer wishes to receive electronic coupons and to specify one or moreparameters relating to an amount, frequency, origin or type ofelectronic coupons to be received; and providing information obtainedfrom the interaction between the consumer and the user interface via theWeb browser to the electronic coupon distribution system.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: enabling the consumer to interact withthe user interface via the Web browser to specify that electroniccoupons relating to a certain type of product or service should orshould not be received.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:enabling the consumer to interact with the user interface via the Webbrowser to specify that electronic coupons originating from a particularcompany or companies should or should not be received.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: enabling the consumer to interact with theuser interface via the Web browser to specify that electronic couponsshould be received from persons within a particular social network ofthe consumer.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: enabling theconsumer to interact with the user interface via the Web browser tospecify that electronic coupons should be received from persons within acertain social distance of the consumer within the particular socialnetwork.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: enabling theconsumer to interact with the user interface via the Web browser tospecify a time period during which the consumer wishes to receiveelectronic coupons.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:enabling the consumer to interact with the user interface via the Webbrowser to specify a location at which the consumer wishes to receiveelectronic coupons.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:enabling the consumer to interact with the user interface via the Webbrowser to specify areas of interest that are useable by the electroniccoupon distribution system to identify electronic coupons fordistribution to the user.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:enabling the consumer to interact with the user interface via the Webbrowser to specify a geographic region that is useable by the electroniccoupon distribution system to identify electronic coupons fordistribution to the user.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:enabling the consumer to interact with the user interface via the Webbrowser to specify one or more of an age, a gender, a marital status, ahome ownership status, a socioeconomic status or life cycle status andwherein one or more of the age, the gender, the marital status, the homeownership status, the socioeconomic status or the life cycle statusspecified by the consumer via the user interface is useable by theelectronic coupon distribution system to identify electronic coupons fordistribution to the user.